The Swedish car market has been impacted by economic development and instability within Europe, with the sale of new cars falling from 305,000 in 2011 to an estimated 275,000 in 2013.

This situation has created instability and has hit the car dealers hard on stock value, cashflow and profit. Most dealers have managed to reduce their stock of used cars and many dealerships are managing stock much more carefully.

From January to July 2013 Autorola saw a fall in dealer used car stock from 72,000 cars to 66,000 cars, a total reduction of 6,000 or 9%.

The sale of used cars is increasing in number but still the prices are under pressure and there are reports of a

10-15% drop in values of many 36-month old cars.

Households who have been holding back on spending are now starting to slowly buy cars again and low interest rates are helping the car market grow again. Sales of new cars are increasing and in September 2013 registrations increased by 11.2%, compared with September 2012, which is the third month with a positive growth versus 2012.

The current used car market means that dealers are being more careful about their stock level and stock turnover. Prices are under pressure and the dealers are spending more time searching for the right cars with high stock turnover levels. As a result more traders are signing up to source cars online through the Autorola platform.

Autorola Sweden has invested in new IT structures and has been able to grow and start new partnerships on the back of this change in market conditions.

The launch of a new Search Agent function allows dealers to find lists with the exact type of stock cars they need, and is a major help for dealers to buy the cars they need. Autorola is seeing a growth in the number of cars being imported using this facility.

Sales of cars between dealers continue to increase and interest from other countries for Swedish cars is leading to more export sales via Autorola’s online channel.

Autorola’s IT platform and fleet management system provides a 360-degree management of online inspections and branded auctions only visible for specific dealer networks. Leasing companies, rental companies and OEMs that have regular used stock coming to the market are now partnering with Autorola to use online sales channels more proactively as part of their overall remarketing strategies to speed up sales and maximise used values.

The change in market conditions is therefore opening new doors for Autorola and the Swedish market for online remarketing is changing all the time. Vendors are changing the way they present their cars to potential buyers and how dealers optimise their stock, because online is faster and more efficient.